Catholic Wedding Ceremony

Catholics are very religious people. The same is evident even in their weddings. You will find that typical Catholic Weddings are very traditional and have a religious element to it. There are a number of ceremonies. Let us have a look at the different rituals the Catholics have at their weddings.

The initial ceremony

In Catholic Weddings on the wedding day, the priest recites a special prayer for the couple. He mentions the names of the couple and seeks God’s blessings for them.

Liturgy Of The Word

Next, the family members will read out passages from the bible. These passages are approved by the priest beforehand. After these readings, the priest will give the holy sermon. The sermon given by the priest will be about marriage.

The Ritual

All the people present in the church will then stand up. The bride and the groom will take the nupial vows. The bride will accept the groom as her husband, while the groom will accept the bride as his wife. They will give the commitment that they will remain committed to one another for the rest of their lives. In Catholic weddings, the priest will then join hands of the bride and the groom. He will then ask the bride if she accepts the groom as her husband, to which she will respond in the affirmative. He will then ask the groom if he takes the bride as his wife and the groom will say yes. The priest will then bless the couple.

The ring ceremony

Next at Catholic weddings is the ring ceremony. The best man will give the bride’s ring to the priest. The priest will consecrate it and give it to the groom. The maid of honor will give the groom’s ring to the priest. The priest will then consecrate it and give it to the bride. Both will then exchange the rings. While doing so, say these words, “I take this ring as a sign of my love and faithfulness in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

Mass

Then a holy mass is held for 15 minutes and after the Holy Communion the priest will say the prayer for the couple and will bless them. In some cases, no mass is held and the priest will simply say a small prayer and will bless the couple.

Offertory

The bride will place flowers on the shrine of the Virgin Mary and she will seek her blessings. This ceremony can be held before the wedding ceremony or after the wedding ceremony.

In this way, the wedding ceremony will come to an end. As you can see that there are a number of religious rituals that are held during this ceremony. Lot of efforts and hard work are put in by the bride and the groom and their families in order to make the wedding a grand and memorable occasion.